This week, Steve Jones talks to Georgia Haire, a 3rd year History student who is preparing for winter by immersing herself in the doom and gloom of Jean Rhys.
What are you reading, who’s it by and what’s it about?
‘Quartet’ by Jean Rhys. Marya is living in 1920s Paris with her reckless husband. When he is imprisoned she’s left broke and alone. She’s taken in by her recent acquaintances, the Heidlers, who slowly overwhelm her with their own desires. The novel is based on Rhys’ relationship with Ford Maddox Ford, his wife Stella Bowen and Jean Lenglet, Rhys’ first husband.
Is it un-putdownable or un-pickupable?
Un-putdownable.
You must always judge a book by its cover. Does it have a
pretty cover?
Penguin Modern Classics always do.
Do you identify with any of the characters, and if so why?
You can definitely sympathise with Marya and her position, even though she is very self-pitying at points.
What’s the writing style? Is it, for instance, dialogue heavy or is it mostly excruciatingly lengthy Lord of the Rings style description?
I think you could say it fits in with Modernist style literature. The novel is satirical and full of emotional descriptions of Marya’s surroundings and the people she encounters.
Can you predict the end?
I don’t think it’s going to be a happy one. The fatalistic tones in the novel are less than promising.
Do you think other students will like this, or will they cry and gnash their teeth as they read, shaking the book and screaming abuse?
I think it’s very likely it would be enjoyed and not yelled at.
